Weaning Your Clients From Wanting to Work Only With You

As my business grows and I get busier, I am seeing that eventually I will have to get some sort of help in my business. Whether that’s an employee or another virtual assistant, or however it takes shape, some clients may have to start dealing with someone besides myself.

Right now I am my business. My business is me. Clients always talk to me, have direct access to me, and can talk to me almost anytime through email or Skype.  I love being accessible to my clients, but if I want to grow to what my goals are reaching for, some of that accessibility is going to have to change, or look different. There’s no way I can expand my business and still be their only point of contact. So when I ran across this blog post, it seemed like perfect timing.

I know there are other small business owners out there who operate the same. And maybe you never want that to change. But I also know there are others out there who have the same big dreams (goals) that they will grow big enough that someday they won’t be able to directly deal with all of the contact we have with our clients or customers that we can do on our own now. So I’m going to share with you what I found in this blog post by MyBreakthroughBusiness.com. If you want to read the whole post in it’s entirety, you’ll find it here.  But here’s the main part of the post, where she talks about the 3 Ways You’re Going to Have to Change to Break the Cycle.

1.) You’re going to have to let go of some of the control. 

Imagine that someone else is handling that urgent, messy problem. Picture someone else making your pickiest client happy. See others on your team working after hours planning the presentation, chasing down the details, assuring the quality your company has become known for. Now imagine yourself standing on the sidelines cheering them on — doesn’t it feel great? — right before you slip away for a week or two at your beach house.

If you keep your eye on the prize (the beach house), working yourself to a frazzle because your clients only want to work with you doesn’t make much sense, does it? You can do this! It just takes a little practice, a little know-how, and the right team.

2.) You’re going to have to accept that your way is not the only way.

So what if she doesn’t do it exactly like you? Do you really think you’re the only one who can do it? Or do you think your way is the only way your clients will like, because it’s the only way you like?

I thought that too, and I used to redo and redirect everything my team did until one day we were just too busy, and some work went out that I didn’t like — I just didn’t have enough time to fix it. Guess what? The client loved it! I was amazed, so I started letting more work go out that wasn’t exactly like I would have done it.

Now, don’t misunderstand — this wasn’t substandard work. It was good, high quality work, it just didn’t do it for me. And I came to realize that because there are different kinds of people in the world, not everyone likes things done my way. Imagine that!

An amazing thing happened when the work that came out of our shop didn’t all look like mine: we became known for excellent work that solved problems, instead of excellent work that looked like Marcia did it. We became more diverse, which meant we could serve a more diverse group of clients. I still reviewed everything for quality, basic consistencies, and to make sure it solved the clients’ problems, and our philosophies and strategies were similar throughout. And our business grew — even faster.

3. You’re going to have to start promoting your team

When you talk about your business, do you use the *I* word or the *We* word? Do you tell your clients about the capabilities of the experts you have on your team? Do you market and promote your team members as valuable resources your clients have access to? You should, if you want others to value their contributions and want to work with them.

No one likes a “bait-and-switch.” If you promote your company as you, then try to get your client to work with a different member of your team, they’re no doubt going to feel sold to. But if you introduce your client to your talented team, of which you are a part, letting him know that he’ll have the opportunity to work with a mix of your combined expertise, he’ll look forward the experience. The first time you do this your ego will undoubtedly take a hit, but the extra time you gain on the golf course should make up for it.

Basically, if you want to expand your business, your company, it’s ultimately about being ok to let go of the control, and trust that others can do it as well (even if it’s different from) you.